


Running

by dryswallow



Category: Neon Genesis Evangelion
Genre: Alternate Universe, Established Relationship, F/F, Princess AU, Princess/Knight
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-23
Updated: 2015-10-23
Packaged: 2018-04-27 16:33:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,351
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5055877
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dryswallow/pseuds/dryswallow
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Asuka was the kind of princess who was always running away. Eventually, Mari decided that the best way to protect the princess was to run with her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Running

**Author's Note:**

  * For [EvilMuffins](https://archiveofourown.org/users/EvilMuffins/gifts).



Asuka was the kind of princess who was always running away.

Some princesses ran away because they were being pressured into unfortunate marriages. Others were trying to escape curses placed on their families by angry witches or mischievous fairies. And then, there were those who ran away to be with their lovers. As a knight, Mari had heard all kinds of stories about princesses who ran. Not all of them were true, of course, but enough of them were that she had learned to be wary when she was assigned to protect a princess. You never knew what kinds of tricks they would end up pulling on you.

That was fine. Mari had more than a few tricks of her own.

Mari quickly realized that Asuka fit into none of the categories of princesses that she had been told about. There were no arranged marriages, no curses, and no lovers (except for Mari herself – to be fair when she was given the job, she was never told she wasn’t allowed to romance her charge).

No, Asuka was more like a bird who had been shoved inside a cage that was far too small. Princesses were supposed to be delicate, pleasant, and caring; though Asuka could play-act as these things, it was clear she felt she deserved more. So she challenged her family, her advisors, her tutors – especially her tutors, who refused to give her advanced lessons or the books she wanted. She appealed to other princesses and duchesses in similar positions, writing long and intense letters that almost always went unanswered.

And when she was sick of fighting, she ran.

In the year that Mari had been working for Asuka’s family, Asuka had run away nearly a dozen times. She came back every time, even when Mari hadn’t been able to track her down, but it was clear she had no intention of stopping, at least, not until she took the throne and was given free reign of her life and queendom.

Eventually, Mari decided that the best way to protect the princess was to run with her.

 

* * *

 

The ground was still wet with dew when Asuka and Mari left the stables that morning, heading west towards the mountains. Their shadows were cast out in front of them as they rode, stretched long and thin from the sun behind them. They had just made it to the top of the valley when Asuka began to slow her horse, and behind her, Mari followed suit.

“We’re stopping here,” Asuka said.

“Why’s that, princess? See something interesting in the forest?”

“Don’t play stupid – you know why.”

She dismounted from her horse with a flourish of her skirts, red fabric of her dress shining in the morning light. Mari watched from atop her horse as Asuka pulled a bundle of cloth from her saddle bag and began stomping off into the forest.

“Tie the horses up!” she yelled to Mari from over her shoulder.

“Yes, your highness!” Mari called after her, just to hear the irritated noise Asuka made in response.

Mari led their horses far enough into the woods that they would be hidden from the road, then hitched them to tree near a patch of grass so they could graze while they waited.

She found Asuka quickly, half hidden behind an overgrown bush that she was using for cover while she changed. The cape she had been wearing earlier had been draped over a nearby branch like a makeshift curtain, and a commoner’s outfit was folded on the ground by her feet.

Ah. They were running again.

“So where are we going this time?” Mari asked.

“You’ll find out when we get there,” Asuka said. Her arms contorted behind her as she struggled to reach the ties on the back of her dress. “Help me get this damn thing off, would you?”

“Of course,” Mari purred.

She pushed Asuka’s hands away and began to undo the silk laces that kept the bodice of Asuka’s dress pulled tight. As a princess, even her riding clothes were ornate. The heavy red fabric of her dress felt intensely soft beneath Mari’s fingers, and the embroidery on Asuka’s collar and sleeves shone when it caught the light. They were too beautiful – that was why she had to take them off. If she wore them into town, they would reveal her identity immediately.

Mari ran her hands down Asuka’s back, loosening the bodice.

“Do you need help with the rest of it?” she asked, voice low.

“Go ahead,” Asuka said.

Asuka turned around so she could watch as Mari bent down to begin undressing her.  Mari picked up the hem of Asuka’s dress where it fell around her ankles and started to lift, gathering the fabric handful by handful until Asuka’s legs were almost entirely exposed. She let the back of her hand drag over the milky skin of Asuka’s thigh, light at first, then with a bit more pressure as she noticed the way Asuka was watching her.

“What are you waiting for?” Asuka taunted.

Mari grinned. “Nothing. Arms up, princess.”

“If you don’t stop calling me that, you’re going to give us away when we’re in town.”

Asuka lifted her arms as asked, allowing Mari pull the dress the rest of the way over her head. Mari lifted the fabric slowly, enjoying the way her hands brushed against Asuka’s back and sides. Once the dress was entirely free, Mari folded it until it was nothing more than a brightly coloured ball of fabric, then set it down on the grass beneath them.

Bumps rose on Asuka’s skin as it came in contact with the cold morning air, but if she felt any discomfort, it didn’t show on her face.

“Do you need help putting your clothes on too?” Mari teased.

“I don’t _need_ your help for anything,” Asuka said, eyes narrowing.

“Says the princess who has me follow her around all day, fetching her books and taking off her clothes.”

“You follow me around all day because you’re paid to, you idiot. So no, I don’t need you,” Asuka insisted. “But I want you here – it’s more fun with you. Besides, it’s easier this way. If I left you behind and went off on my own, they’d come after me for sure, and they’d make you tell them where to find me. You know me too well at this point; you’re a liability. So you have to accompany me this time.

“Now, come here.”

Asuka clasped her arms behind Mari’s neck, pulling her in for a slow kiss.

Mari smiled to herself against the push of Asuka’s lips. She could accuse Asuka of kissing her to make sure she was the one to get the last word in on their little debate, but no, that would be no fun. Even if it was probably true.

She could feel the warmth of Asuka’s bare skin as it pressed against her through her clothes, lighting fires in her stomach. It made her want to fall to her knees, bury herself in the softness of Asuka’s stomach and thighs. Asuka would bury her fingers in Mari’s hair like she always did as she let Mari know exactly what she wanted and how, commanding and regal even when she was standing half-naked in the middle of the forest.

Just as Mari was about to sink to her knees and follow her temptations, she felt Asuka pulling away.

“We don’t have time for this,” Asuka muttered. “I want to make to the next town over by nightfall.”

“It’s not my fault,” Mari said. “You’re the one who seduced me.”

“It doesn’t count as seduction when I’ve already had you.”

“Doesn’t it?”

“No.”

“Fair enough.”

Mari drew back, giving Asuka space to begin getting dressed.

She leaned against one of the old trees around them, pretending to stand guard as Asuka changed into a dark commoner’s dress and swept her telltale red hair back beneath a scarf to hide it from view. It wasn’t the best disguise, but it would do.

“Let’s get going,” Asuka said.

Mari grinned.

“As you wish.”

**Author's Note:**

> For EvilMuffins - I loved your princess/knight AsuMari prompt so I ran away with it. :) It's been a while since I've seen NGE, so I hope the characterization isn't too off. I have many more details for this AU in my head than I was able to fit into just this fic, so I might end up expanding on it later on.


End file.
